Gridnik (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Gridnik is a geometrical typeface
designed by Dutch
graphic design
er Wim Crouwel
, in 1974. It is the digital version of the typewriter typeface Olivetti Politene.
manufacturer Olivetti
to design a typeface
for their new electric typewriters. The result was a sans serif monoline (all lines are of equal thickness) typeface. Olivetti called it Politene. All characters are based on a square grid, with the 45-degree corners. Before Crouwel could finish the design, the interest for electric typewriters declined, so much so that they did not need the type design anymore. As a consequence, the copyright
s of the design went back to Crouwel. At the same time they commissioned Crouwel, they asked Josef Müller-Brockmann
to design a typeface as well.
The Foundry in London. Originally, it only consisted of one font – as part of the 3 Crouwel collection – but it was later expanded with a light a medium and a bold. This version is called Foundry Gridnik. The name Gridnik was chosen by The Foundry because of the nickname given to Crouwel by his friends, Mr. Gridnik, for his frequent use of grids
in his designs. Other typefaces in the 3 Crouwel collection are Fodor
, New Alphabet
, Stedelijk and Catalogue.
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
designed by Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
er Wim Crouwel
Wim Crouwel
Willem Hendrik Crouwel is a Dutch graphic designer and typographer.Between 1947 and 1949 he studied Fine Arts at Academie Minerva in Groningen, The Netherlands...
, in 1974. It is the digital version of the typewriter typeface Olivetti Politene.
History
Around 1974, Crouwel was commissioned by typewriterTypewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
manufacturer Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
to design a typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
for their new electric typewriters. The result was a sans serif monoline (all lines are of equal thickness) typeface. Olivetti called it Politene. All characters are based on a square grid, with the 45-degree corners. Before Crouwel could finish the design, the interest for electric typewriters declined, so much so that they did not need the type design anymore. As a consequence, the copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s of the design went back to Crouwel. At the same time they commissioned Crouwel, they asked Josef Müller-Brockmann
Josef Müller-Brockmann
Josef Müller-Brockmann, , was a Swiss graphic designer and teacher. He studied architecture, design and history of art at both the University and Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich. In 1936 he opened his Zurich studio specialising in graphic design, exhibition design and photography. From 1951 he...
to design a typeface as well.
Number Postage Stamps
The most notable use of Gridnik was on a series of Number Postage Stamps for the Dutch PTT, designed in the same period as the Olivetti commission. He drew a special version of Politene, consisting of the word nederland and the numerals. These stamps were in circulation from 1976 to 2002.Digital Gridnik
The digital version of Gridnik was digitized from the original drawings by the type foundryType foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
The Foundry in London. Originally, it only consisted of one font – as part of the 3 Crouwel collection – but it was later expanded with a light a medium and a bold. This version is called Foundry Gridnik. The name Gridnik was chosen by The Foundry because of the nickname given to Crouwel by his friends, Mr. Gridnik, for his frequent use of grids
Grid (typography)
A typographic grid is a two-dimensional structure made up of a series of intersecting vertical and horizontal axes used to structure content. The grid serves as an armature on which a designer can organize text and images in a rational, easy to absorb manner....
in his designs. Other typefaces in the 3 Crouwel collection are Fodor
Fodor (typeface)
Fodor is a geometrical typeface designed by Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel, around 1973.- History :Fodor was designed for the covers of the magazine published by Museum Fodor in Amsterdam. The main text on the covers were set with a electric typewriter, and the monospaced typeface that it used...
, New Alphabet
New Alphabet (typeface)
-History:New Alphabet is a personal, experimental project of Crouwel. The typeface embraces the limitations of the cathode ray tube technology used by early data display screens and phototypesetting equipment and thus only contains horizontal and vertical strokes. Conventional typefaces can suffer...
, Stedelijk and Catalogue.
Other typefaces by Crouwel
- FodorFodor (typeface)Fodor is a geometrical typeface designed by Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel, around 1973.- History :Fodor was designed for the covers of the magazine published by Museum Fodor in Amsterdam. The main text on the covers were set with a electric typewriter, and the monospaced typeface that it used...
- New AlphabetNew Alphabet (typeface)-History:New Alphabet is a personal, experimental project of Crouwel. The typeface embraces the limitations of the cathode ray tube technology used by early data display screens and phototypesetting equipment and thus only contains horizontal and vertical strokes. Conventional typefaces can suffer...